Sixteenth Age
The Sixteenth Age was a time period in Jerde's ancient history, and perhaps the first when its peoples achieved a more "modern" level of technology. History The Sixteenth Age was when the Tuksharan Empire began its eastward march to conquer the continents of Hreyrgrad, Vachelon, Palkyras, Randros, and Rifandi. Flying cities and fortresses darkened the skies as they rained torpedoes and swarms of fighters to subjugate those lands -- until the natives built their own machines to repel those invaders. In the western hemisphere, the great Kingdom of Darros was dominated by a communist regime that executed its emperor and his council of high volkhovs (priests), before many temples were demolished and rebuilt as fortresses. Weakened by the defeat of its fleets, another communist government was set up in eastern Tukshara. Both of these regimes began supplying guerillas in various parts of the world as they sought to spread their communistic beliefs throughout all of Jerde in their campaign of "global liberation" (or domination). It became a golden chance for Zarijana to send missionaries and emissaries to dozens of alarmed nations and promote its alternative to communism and its authoritarian models: Mazdajasni, and the worship of its one God. One of those victors, Ardesch, built its own empire as it set up colonies on Rifandi and Palkyras in search for any lost technology and more resources. When it collapsed into a civil war, it was reunited under a dictator known as "the Director": the Director sought to gain allies among those startled by the rise of communistic regimes in parts of the world, and then build a new empire of his own to rival and take over Zarijana. After two later Directors after him, their regime was overthrown and replaced with Red Ardesch, which continued the mission of spreading socialistic beliefs. The very presence of a new communist regime (and so close to a role model such as Zarijana) shocked the world, causing some nations to become into dictatorships to protect themselves from a possible invasion by either the communist realms or Zarijana. Even then, as Red Ardesch grew powerful, it split off from its allies of Red Darros and East Tukshara for the sake of taking revenge against bigotry, from warring against Zarijana to besieging the Lothareschen successors of the Directorists and bombarding their allies at western Darros. Among those realms that became dictatorships to answer the looming threats of Tukshara or the Reds were Marnoxai, Rannar, and the Gauvajut Empire. Divisions of the world During the Sixteenth Age, Jerde's countries were divided and regrouped under political alignments: * Reds/Dark Reds - Red Darros, East Tukshara, and similar communist regimes ** These realms believed that strict adherence to communism will push humanity into progress and utopia, no matter how many lives ("traitors") would be expended to achieve their goal. * Spectras/Rainbows/Light Reds - Red Ardesch and its allies ** These realms preferred Red Ardesch's teachings over the Reds', as they considered those ways to be freer. These were also persuaded by emissaries and guerillas sent from Red Ardesch to adopt its "liberation" policies for their minorities, and in return they receive financial aid to develop their poorer economies. ** Many of these Spectras have higher protections for non-heterosexuals, who were otherwise purged, punished, imprisoned, exiled, forcibly "cured", or even killed for their traits. The very tolerance of non-heterosexuals caused the Spectras to be avoided by some of the other nations of the world. * Yellows - Zarijana, the Slavonian Brotherhood, and their allies ** These realms have either converted to Mazdajasna, or have turned to Zarijana for its protection from communist attacks. ** Some of those realms were instead allies of the Slavonian Brotherhood that sought its protection. * Purples - the Gauvajut Empire and its allies ** In response to the growing threats of Rannar and Ardesch, the Gauvajut Empire set up its own coalition with its allies of Redjetesh and Vachelon. Several countries in western Rifandi also joined Kawwajutas' alliance to thank it for protecting them from Ardesch's invasions. ** Although the Gauvajut Empire is a strong ally of Zarijana, it disagreed with Zarijana's strict implementation of Mazdajasna and its torture of dissidents. * Blues - neutral countries * White-Greens - fascist countries such as Rannar, Marnoxai, Maardau, and Lotharesch ** Although Rannar insisted in being the leader of these regimes, the other three chose to remain independent. Under its fascist government, its Emperor claimed himself to be the "Overjarl and Defender of all Mannurlings", but most Mannurlings in the world rejected his rule. ** The most "free" of these regimes (in terms of civil liberties and rights) was Marnoxai, who only joined Rannar to refuse repeated invitations and threats by the Reds, Spectras, and Yellows. For this, Rannar sent armies and terrorists to invade Marnoxai, but most of these attempts were repelled. *** There was a growing movement in Marnoxai for its leaders to switch to the Blues and become neutral, to avoid attracting enemies and attacks for its alignment. ** Maardau was a dictatorship set up by a cult in Ardesch that preferred wildness over the coercion of "civilised" life in the Ardeschen Empire. There, ritual murders and human sacrifices were frequent, and its killings of non-heterosexuals for its gods angered the Red Ardeschi government into waging war against Maardau and exterminating its people. ** Lotharesch was a dictatorship set up by the remaining supporters of the Directors, who set up their leader as the Fourth Director. Although it also claimed to be the leader of a proposed alliance with the two realms, Marnoxai and Rannar refused to obey its commands either. * Whites - the eastern nations of Laron ** Many of them formed their own alliance to shield themselves from East Tukshara. ** Their usage of "Whites" as a term for their alliance led to poor relations between them and Rannar. * Golds - Freyrgard and its allies ** Many of them formed their own alliance to shield themselves from East Tukshara. * Greens - Yawanda and its allies (at southern Rifandi) ** Many of them formed their own alliance to shield themselves from Red Ardesch and Zarijana. ** Many of them were supported by technology that the Yawandi seized from the defeated aliens of the Eighth Age. ** One kingdom, Olande, tried to be like Rannar in claiming to be the leader of all Rifandians, but most of them rejected his authority. *